EDITORIAL - Waiting for sanctions

Justice moves at glacial pace in this country, and it’s not the fault only of the judiciary. Today marks a year since 13 men were gunned down at a security checkpoint along the Maharlika Highway in Atimonan, Quezon. The police officers in the security contingent claimed they were fired upon first, but the Department of Justice, quoting witnesses, said the case appeared to be a rubout.

Certain individuals in the Philippine National Police appear to need more convincing. As of yesterday, the PNP Internal Affairs Service, which handles cases of police misconduct, had not yet recommended administrative sanctions that may be imposed on the police contingent led by Senior Superintendent Hansel Marantan, the only cop wounded in the alleged shootout. The 13 fatalities were riddled with bullets in their vehicles. The IAS initially concluded that PNP rules of engagement were violated. How many years will it need to decide appropriate sanctions?

The cops involved and their defenders in politics said it was a legitimate operation against a notorious jueteng operator, Vic Siman, and a group of hired guns. Killed along with Siman were three policemen and two Air Force personnel as well as an environmentalist. No charges had been filed against Siman at the time of his death, and none of his companions faced charges as suspected assassins. Even if Siman had been indicted for illegal gambling, this is not a major offense in this country and capital punishment has been abolished. Executing 12 companions to get one alleged gambling lord is appalling law enforcement that should have no place in the PNP.

And yet here we are, a year after what has been described as a massacre was perpetrated, still waiting for the police IAS to recommend administrative sanctions for those involved. In September last year, the Department of Justice filed charges of multiple murder against 13 of the 22 implicated policemen led by Marantan. All 13 are supposedly held without bail at the PNP Custodial Center and the case is in court. If this is the pace at the first level of the criminal justice system, the public can’t hope for speed in the administration of justice.